Various devices for separating hair into strands are known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,393 to Louis N. Thomas provides a hair styling implement to facilitate the withdrawal of spaced groups of hair strands from the scalp for separate treatment with bleach or the like for “frosting” or “streaking” has a plurality of equi-distantly spaced, arcuate hook members movable between open and closed positions with respect to the bottom surface of the body of the implement by an operating slide member at its top. After thus hookingly engaging spaced groups of hair strands for treatment, the implement is lifted from the scalp to isolate the strand groups thus selected for bleach or dye treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,438 to Hunt Marjorie A. provides a hair weaving comb for rapidly and evenly separating hair for highlighting and the like includes a set of legs extending from an elongate support member. Distal end portions of the legs include hair separating teeth for separating a section of hair into sub-sections. When the legs of the comb are initially inserted into a section of hair, the teeth create sub-sections of hair. When the legs are further inserted in the section of hair, the teeth group and displace alternate hair sub-sections away from other alternate hair sub-sections. The other alternate hair sub-sections are bypassed by the teeth and slide into hair-receiving slots formed between the spaced-apart legs of the hair weaving comb. When the legs are still further inserted through the hair section, the displaced hair sub-sections are pushed out of a hairstylists's hand and readily fall out of the teeth of the distal end of the comb and down to the head of the customer. The hair weaving comb creates a number of thin hair sub-sections simultaneously from a wide hair section and hence provides an instantaneous separation of a section of hair. Furthermore, the hair weaving comb creates sub-sections of an equal width to provide an even coloring for highlighting of the hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,297 to Hatchett Jerry provides a generally hand-shaped hair styling device for independently retaining a plurality of separate sections of hair, comprising a rigid frame assembly comprising a curved rigid base with a plurality of adjacent elongated rigid members joined to and arising in a perpendicular manner from the curved rigid base in such a manner that slots are formed between the adjacent elongated members, each of the slots being of sufficient height and width to accommodate and retain a section of hair containing multiple strands of hair, the section consisting of a sufficient number of strands of hair as to be suitable for braiding, wherein the slots contain adjacent resilient surfaces in close proximity to each other, thereby enhancing the ability of the device to retain the sections of the hair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,868 to Ogunro E. Olayinka provides an apparatus to separate hair into units of three for braiding, producing several such units in one application. The preferred embodiment comprises a platform having an upper shelf and an anchor. The anchor has comb-like teeth for fixing the device to the hair of the subject. The upper shelf prevents tangling of unbraided hair above the device. A blade, fixed perpendicularly to the platform, has a plurality of teeth separated by notches of alternating depths, which receive strands of hair. A lower shelf affixed at an angle acts as a support for the separated hair strands and prevents tangling. The upper and lower shelves are made removable. The width between braids may be varied by providing teeth of different widths on the upper shelf.
All the above patents and others provide for separating hair into alternate strands, for example for bleaching purposes where alternate hair strands are bleached.